Collapsible umbrella



Aug. 6, 1968 H. WEBER I 3,39

COLLAPS IBLE UMBRELLA Filed April 27, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Fig. I F1912 Aug. 6, 1968 H. WEBER COLLAPSIBLE UMBRELLA 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 27, 1967 Fig. 7

United States Patent 3,395,717 COLLAPSIBLE UMBRELLA Heinz Weber, Hilden, Rhineland, Germany, assignor to Bremshey & C0., Solingen-Ohligs, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Apr. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 634,245 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 28, 1966, B 86,863 6 Claims. (Cl. 135-26) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Collapsible umbrella has a stick, a system of roof-supporting ribs each consisting of an upper rib portion pivotally connected to the normally upper end of the stick and at least another rib portion telescoping the upper rib portion, an auxiliary runner or slider displaceable along the stick, said auxiliary runner having an inner surface, a plurality of struts, each of which is pivotally linked with the runner and with one of the roof-supporting ribs, and means tending to oppose the sliding of the runner along the stick as the umbrella is being opened, comprising a wedge member extending axially along the inner surface of the auxiliary runner and movable in a direction toward the normally upper end of the stick, said wedge member, during an initial phase of the sliding of the auxiliary runner when opening the umbrella roof, being in wedging abutment on one side with the stick and on the other side with an oppositely inclined Wedge surface formed on the inner surface of the auxiliary runner, and, in a succeeding phase of the sliding of the auxiliary runner, being loosely received in a space located between the stick and the auxiliary runner so that the wedge is no longer in wedging abutment with the stick and the auxiliary runner.

My invention relates to a collapsible umbrella whose frame can be shortened by telescoping so that the umbrella when completely collapsed is small enough to be carried in a brief bag or ladys pocketbook, for example. More specifically, my invention relates to a collapsible umbrella comprised of a stick, a system of roof-supporting ribs each consisting of an upper rib portion pivotally connected to the normally upper end of the stick and at least another rib portion telescoping the upper rib portion, an auxiliary runner or slider displaceable along the stick, and a plurality of struts, each of which is pivotally linked with the runner and with one of the roof-supporting ribs. Such umbrellas are described, for example, in Patent No. 2,165,967.

This well-proven type of construction unfortunately has the undesirable feature that when the umbrella is to be opened, the roof-supporting ribs occasionally slide together or telescope instead of swinging away from the stick so that the umbrella fails to open. To correct this defect, various improvements have been suggested. One suggested improvement consists of providing a device which tends to oppose the sliding of the auxiliary runner at the beginning of the umbrella-opening operation by means of friction. Such a device is described for example, in the aforementioned Patent No. 2, 165,967. In this patent, the umbrella is provided with a spring mounted in the stick which extends radially outwardly through a wall of the stick at a location within the auxiliary runner or in the region between the auxiliary runner and the crown at the upper end of the umbrella when the umbrella is closed but not yet shortened by telescoping.

In another heretofore known umbrella, a check or stop member mounted in the interior of the auxiliary runner frictionally engages the umbrella stick when the umbrella is closed thereby serving the same purpose as "ice the spring of the aforementioned Patent No. 2,165,967. The stop member tends to oppose the sliding of the runner along the stick when the umbrella is beginning to be opened and, after the auxiliary runner has travelled part of the way along the stick, the stop member passes into a longitudinal groove formed in the stick wall. An umbrella of this type is described in German Patent No. 867,900.

Umbrellas constructed in the just-mentioned manner have the disadvantage that the checking or stopping action takes place not only, as desired, at the beginning of the umbrella-opening operation, but also in the last phase of the umbrella-closing operation so that in this last phase increased tension must be applied to the main runner of the umbrella in order to restore the main runner to its final engaging position. Since the frictional force necessary for braking the auxiliary runner must be quite large to accomplish its purpose, the tractive force or tension force which is necessary to be applied to the main runner toward the end of the umbrella-closing operation, is also very great. The individual using the umbrella often believes that the umbrella may have been closed already without any trouble when the movement of the main runner suddenly encounters greatly increased resistance. If the umbrella is being carried so that it is hanging in a downward position and the main runner is then released, then the umbrella will open again under the action of gravity.

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide a collapsible umbrella which avoids the foregoing disadvantages of the heretofore known types of collapsible umbrellas, and which more particularly avoids any increased resistance toward closing the umbrella.

With the foregoing objects in view, collapsible umbrella comprising a stick, a system of roof-supporting ribs each consisting of an upper rib portion pivotally connected to the normally upper end of the stick and at least another rib portion telescoping the upper rib portion, an auxiliary runner or slider displaceable along the stick, the auxiliary runner having an inner surface, a plurality of struts, each of which is pivotally linked with the runner and with one of the roof-supporting ribs, and means tending to oppose the sliding of the runner along the stick as the umbrella is being opened, comprising a wedge member extending axially along the inner surface of the auxiliary runner and movable in a direction toward the normally upper end of the stick, the wedge member, during an initial phase of the sliding of the auxiliary runner when opening the umbrella roof, being in wedging abutment on one side thereof with the stick and on the other side thereof with an oppositely inclined wedge surface formed on the inner surface of the auxiliary runner, and, in a succeeding phase of the sliding of the auxiliary runner, said wedge member being received in a longitudinal groove formed in the stick so that the wedge is no longer in wedging abutment with the stick and the auxiliary runner.

In accordance with a further feature of my invention, means are provided for limiting the movement of the wedge member toward the crown or normally upper end of the umbrella, which prevents the wedge member from falling out of the normally upper end of the auxiliary runner as the auxiliary runner is being moved downwardly during the closing operation of the umbrella. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the movement of the wedge member relative to the auxiliary runner is also limited in a direction toward the normally lower or handleend of the umbrella. By means of this further limit to the movement of the wedge member, it is possible to adjust the braking action of the wedge to the required extent i.e. to make it so large, that the umbrella will be sure to open yet on the other hand make it not so large that the auxiliary runner would be completely locked against the stick due to wedging, with a possible consequence that one or more of the frame members might bend or break when the umbrella is thereafter extended or opened.

In many cases, the auxiliary runners of pocket-type colla sible umbrellas of the aforementioned construction have so much play relative to the umbrella stick that no additional space is required for accommodating the wedge member. Thus, in the simplest embodiment of my invention, it would be possible to manage without any particular axial guide for the wedge. However, to obtain exact operation of the wedge it is recommended, in accordance with a further feature of the invention, to provide a guide for the wedge member at the auxiliary runner located parallel to the axis of the umbrella stick, that guide being preferably in the form of a groove on the inner surface of the auxiliary runner.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the ap ended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in collapsible umbrella, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of a specific embodiment read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are longitudinal views of part of a collapsible umbrella constructed in accordance with the invention in respective collapsed and partly extended condition;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 of the collapsible umbrella of my invention shown in shortened or telescoped condition;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fragment of my collapsible umbrella showing the auxiliary slider and associated struts in the partly closed yet unshortened state of the umbrella as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 4 taken along the line VV in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 4 taken along the line VI-VI in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the wedge shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a view of the wedge of FIG. 7 as seen in the direction of the arrow VIII;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view of the upper portion of the umbrella stick shown in FIG. 4 with the auxiliary runner located thereon showing the wedge in a position assumed thereby after the umbrella has been closed and before beginning of the motion for opening or extending the umbrella; and

FIG. 10 is another view of FIG. 9 wherein the Wedge is located in a position at a further phase of the motion for opening or extending the umbrella.

Referring now to the drawings and first particularly to FIGS. 1 to 3 thereof, there is shown a conventional umbrella stick consisting of two telescoping portions 1 and 2. The stick portion 1 carries an umbrella crown 3 at the top thereof, as viewed in FIGS. 1 to 3. At the bottom end of the stick portion 2, an umbrella handle 5 is secured for holding the umbrella. The means provided for mutually interlocking the portions 1 and 2 of the stick when in use as shown in FIG. 1, are not illustrated in the drawing since they are well known in the art.

Each rib of the umbrella consists of two telescoping portions, a hollow portion 5 pivotally connected to the umbrella crown 3 at the upper end thereof, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and a portion 6 of mostly solid construction. The end of each of the ribs is slidable telescopically into the hollow portion 5 which is connected to the crown 3. A sleeve 7 is slidingly mounted on the outside of the hollow rib portion Sand is connected in a conventional manner with the upper end of the solid rib portion 6, as

shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, by a hinge pin 8. The pin 8 serves simultaneously for articulatingly connectin the rib portion 6 to a main strut 9. All of the main struts are pivotally connected with a main runner or slider 11 at a location 10 thereof, the main runner 11 being lockable in the vicinity of the handle 4 when the umbrella is closed and in the vicinity of the crown 3 on the stick 1, 2 when the umbrella is open. Roof or covering material (not shown) such as fabric, plastic sheet or the like is attached at the umbrella crown 3 and to the free ends of the rib portions 6. The means necessary for locking the main runner in the aforementioned positions and for attaching the roof material to the umbrella are generally known and are accordingly not illustrated in the drawings. Auxiliary struts 12, which serve to support the open umbrella roof, are pivotally connected at the location 13 to respective main struts 9 and are all secured at their upper ends by a pivot 14 as shown in FIG. 2, for example, to an auxiliary runner or slider 15. If an umbrella of this type is to be extended or opened, the main runner 11 is released from its lower rest position, as shown in FIG. 1, and moved by hand along the umbrella stick 1, 2 toward the crown 3. It is possible that when this is done, the umbrella roof will not be extended or opened because the umbrella rib portions 5 and 6 may slide together or telescope under the action of a force exerted by the main struts 9 through the sleeve 7. The hereinafter described features of my invention are provided for the purpose of avoiding this problem.

The auxiliary slider 15, which has the shape of a relatively elongated sleeve, is provided on its inner surface with a groove 16 extending parallel to the axis of the umbrella stick 1, 2. The groove 16 extends, however, as shown in FIG. 4, from the normally upper end of the auxiliary runner 15 down to a location 17 thereof at which it forms a wedge surface 18 which is inclined toward the axis XX of the umbrella stick 1, 2.

The groove 16 serves for guiding a wedge member 19, whose shape is clearly shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The wedge member 19 is formed with a shaft 20 provided with a lug 21. The lower portion of the shaft 20, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, is beveled and is thereby provided with an inclined surface 22 which cooperates as a wedging surface with the corresponding oppositely inclined surface 18 of the auxiliary runner 15 as shown in FIG. 4, for example. The wedge member 19 is shown in FIGS. 4, 9 and 10 in assembly within the auxiliary runner 15. As assembled, the lug 21 of the wedge member 19 projects through a relatively short longitudinal slot 23 provided in the wall of the auxiliary runner 15.

The portion 1 of the stick along which the auxiliary runner 15 is slid when opening and closing the umbrella, is formed with a longitudinal groove 24, which extends upwardly right to the crown 3 of the umbrella but which, however, extends downwardly only to a location 25, as shown in FIG. 4, which lies above the auxiliary runner 15 when the umbrella is closed and is held in an upward vertical position such as the position shown in FIG. 1. After the umbrella is closed, the wedge member 19 is located in the position shown in FIG. 9. The lug 21 of the wedge member 19 then lies between both ends of the slot 23, and both wedge surfaces 18 and 22 which cooperate with one another, lie loosely on one another. If the umbrella is opened, the auxiliary runner .15 is set in motion in a direction toward the crown 3 of the umbrella. The wedge member 19 consequently remains behind and is rigidly clamped on one side by its inclined surface 22 with the inclined surface 18 of the auxiliary runner 15 and on the other side by the outer surface of the stick wall 1, 2 and the surface 26 (FIG. 7) of the wedge 19 located opposite the inclined surface 22 thereof. The wedge member 19 consequently acts as a brake shoe which tends to arrest or check the upward motion of the auxiliary slider 15.

The braking eifect might be so strong that the auxiliary runner 15 will no longer be able to move upwardly at all along the stick portion 1, especially when the slope of the inclined surfaces 18 and 22 relative to the axis X-X of the stick 1 is small. The occurrence of this undesired effect, however, obstructs or hinders the lug 21 in that the lug 21 is stopped by the lower edge of the longitudinal slot 23 as shown in FIGS. 4, 9, 10, thereby limitingthe downwardly directed relative motion of the wedge member 19 with respect to the auxiliary runner 15. In this stop position, the lug 21 appears as illustrated in FIG. 4, this relative position being maintained as long as the braking effect persists.

The braking of the auxiliary runner 15 due to the wedging effect ensures that the roof-supporting ribs will swing outwardly and the umbrella will be opened or extended. Accordingly, the auxiliary runner 15 is moved along the stick with resistance produced by friction caused by the wedge member .19 which tends to oppose the movement. This resistance, however, disappears as soon as the lower end 27 of the wedge member 19 reaches the location 25 shortly after passing the phase illustrated in FIG. 4, and the wedge therewith, moving radially inwardly toward the stick axis X-X, drops back into the groove 24.

If the umbrella is to be closed, the auxiliary runner 15 is moved along the stick portion 1 in a direction toward the handle of the umbrella, the wedge member 19 travelling in the groove 24 having no effect on that movement. When the end 27 of the wedge reaches the location 25 toward the end of the closing movement of the umbrella, the wedge is halted until the lug 21 reaches the upper edge of the slot 23 and is engaged thereat. In this position, the inclined surfaces 18 and 22 have no fixed engagement with one another so that no braking effect is introduced, and the umbrella can be transferred to the closed condition thereof, in which the main runner is at rest, in a manner which is not dilferent from that for any conventional umbrella. The closing of the umbrella is thus not hampered by the wedge 19 or otherwise impaired. When the umbrella is closed, the wedge takes a position similar to that shown in FIG. 9 but wherein the lug 21 is located intermediate both ends of the longitudinal slot 23.

I claim:

1. Collapsible umbrella comprising a stick, a system of roof-supporting ribs, each consisting of an upper rib portion pivotally connected to the normally upper end of the stick and at least another rib portion telescoping said upper rib portion, an auxiliary runner displaceable along said stick said auxiliary runner having an inner surface, a plurality of struts, each of which is pivotally linked with said runner and with one of said roof-supporting ribs, and means tending to oppose the sliding of said runner along said stick as the umbrella is being opened, comprising a wedge member extending axially along said inner surface of said auxiliary runner and movable in a direction toward the normally upper end of said stick, said wedge member, during an initial phase of sliding the auxiliary runner when opening the umbrella roof, being in wedging abutment at one side thereof with the stick and at the other side thereof with a wedge surface of said auxiliary runner having an inclination opposite to that of said wedge member, said wedge surface of said auxiliary runner being formed on the inner surface of said auxiliary runner, and, in a succeeding phase of sliding, the auxiliary runner, said wedge member being loosely received in a space located between said stick and said auxiliary runner so that said Wedge member is no longer in wedging abutment with said stick and said auxiliary runner in said succeeding phase.

2. Collapsible umbrella according to claim 1 wherein said stick is formed with a longitudinal groove along part of the length thereof, and said groove defines said space between said stick and said auxiliary runner within which said wedge member is loosely received in said succeeding phase of sliding said auxiliary runner.

3. Collapsible umbrella according to claim 1 including means for limiting the movement of said wedge member relative to said auxiliary runner in a direction toward the normally upper end of said stick.

4. Collapsible umbrella according to claim 1 including means for limiting the movement of said wedge member relative to said auxiliary runner in a direction away from the normally upper end of said stick.

5. Collapsible umbrella according to claim 1 wherein said auxiliary runner is formed with a longitudinal slot having a normally upper edge and a normally lower edge and said wedge member is formed with a lug extending through said slot, said normally upper and lower edges being engageable by said lug for limiting the movement of said wedge member relative to said auxiliary runner relatively in directions toward and away from the normally upper end of said stick.

6. Collapsible umbrella according to claim 1 including a groove formed in the inner surface of said auxiliary runner, said wedge member being slidably received in said groove and guidable therein.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,124,842 7/1938 Zierold et al. 135-26 2,221,288 11/1940 Okun 13525 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

P. M. CAUN, Assistant Examiner. 

